There seemed to be a few people on the Runabout when it was stolen; Did the changeling kill or stun them? If they were only stunned, they were obviously killed in the explosion, though. – Fadm tyler 17:12, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Script says:

NEW ANGLE: To reveal the dead bodies of the runabout's crew lying on the ground behind the Bashir Changeling as he launches the runabout.

So he most likely killed them before Kira did. --Alan 18:07, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

I ask because the existance of the Yukon would imply that there would be four Runabouts at the station at the time of "The Sons of Mogh" (2372). The ones that would be during the time of this episode would be the (A) The Rubicon (first seen in "Family Business" 2371 and still in operation as of "One Little Ship" in 2374); (B) The Rio Grande (which was never destroyed). As for (C), the Orinoco was destoyed in "Our Man Bashir" (2372), so it was either replaced by the Volga or the Yukon. The Yukon seems to be the original choice for its replacement (appearing in "The Sons of Mogh" five episodes later). However, the Volga is first seen in "Body Parts", fifteen episodes after "Our Man Bashir". Both the Yukon and the Volga are last seen in "By Inferno's light" (the former definately destroyed, the latter abandoned in the Gamma Quadrant and presumed destroyed). This would leave the Rubicon and the Rio Grande remaining and later joined by the Shenandoah (first seen in "Change of Heart" in 2374). Thus sometime between 2371 ("Family Business") and mid-2373 ("By Inferno's Light") there had to have been four runabouts on DS9 simulaniously - the Rubicon, Rio Grande, Volga and Yukon.

BTW- I checked the DS9 Tech manual which states that the station indeed has SIX launch and maintence bays, so I guess there certainly could be four runabouts stationed there at one time. However, why then are two bays left empty and if it could hold more why did the Enterprise deliever only 3 ships, which is a number maintained until the Volga/Yukon condundrum, and then resumed by the time of the appearance of the Shenandoah?

I'm not sure if this was ever stated by how many they could have, and what they had room for at once, but as there has been other spacecraft utilizing the landing bays, it stands to reason that there may be more then three. That is however, not definite proof, and as for Enterprise delivering three, even a Galaxy-class can only hold so many Runabouts (particularly given their size) and I would imagine that Captain Picard wouldn't want to give up the Enterprise's entire stock. That's probably speculation too, but I imagine that at the very least it is down to even the Enterprise having a space limit of what they can carry. --Terran Officer

DS9 does inded have 6 launch bays on the upper surface of the habitat ring, so it could house up to 6 runabouts at a time. However its possible that some of the bays were damaged in the Cardassian withdrawal and 3 was deemed enough when Starfleet initially took over the station. Also, I think, according to the DS9TM and the opening credits, DS9 also makes use of the regular shuttles and work bees, would would need to be stored somewhere as well, maybe with 2 or 3 shuttles in one bay and 4 or 5 work bees in another. Discounting that "By Inferno's Light"'s 4 runabouts was an effects error, the extra runabout could have been assigned to DS9 to help evacuate the civilians more quickly when the Dominion arrived, and was left there when the Yukon was destroyed. As for the Enterprise only delivering three, yes they would take up more room that standard shuttles, but remember "Timescape", when Picard and co. used a runabout? Maybe he felt like "test driving" one of the four he was given to take to DS9 and not use the captain's yacht for some reason. When that was destroyed, he just dropped off the 3 remaining ones and hoped no one would notice! Not sure if the timelines sync up for that though. I'm sure Enterprise could have had one of its own regardless (named Potomac accoridng to some sources). BTW the "Both the Yukon and the Volga are last seen in "By Inferno's light" (the former definately destroyed, the latter abandoned in the Gamma Quadrant and presumed destroyed)." line above is wrong. The Volga was not abandoned in the Gamma Quadrant. I'm pretty sure it was mentioned as being at DS9 at the time, but the runabout used by Worf and Garak to search for Enabran Tain was used by them, plus Bashir and the Romulan woman, to return to the station. Might have even been the Rubicon if I remember the radio chatter at the station correctly. In "Inquisition", Sloan even calls Bashir out on this fact, stating that it was unlikely the Dominion would have left a fully operational runabout in proximity to the interment camp if they didn't intent for Bashir to use it to escape.--2.102.69.233 19:20, May 26, 2014 (UTC)